Container filling and sealing machines



Jan. 30, 1962 H'. PHILLIPS ETAL 3,018,594

CONTAINER FILLING AND SEALING MACHINES Filed Nov. 12, 1959 llSheets-Sheet 2 Jan. 30, 1962 H. PHILLIPS ETAL CONTAINER FILLING ANDSEALING MACHINES l1 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed NOV. 12, 1959 Jan. 30, 1962 H.PHILLIPS ETAL CONTAINER FILLING AND SEALING MACHINES 11 Sheets-Sheet 4Filed Nov. 12, 1959 Jan. 30, 1962 Filed Nov. 12, 1959 H. PHILLIPS ETAL.

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CONTAINER FILLING AND SEALING MACHINES Filed Nov. 12, 1959 llSheets-Sheet 8 Jan. 30, 1962 H. PHILLIPS ETAL 3,018,594

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Jan. 30, 1962 H. PHILLIPS ETAL 3,018,594

CONTAINER FILLING AND SEALING MACHINES Filed Nov. 12, 1959 llSheets-Sheet 10 Jan. 30, 1962 H. PHILLIPS ETAL 3,013,594

CONTAINER FILLING AND SEALING MACHINES Filed Nov. 12, 1959 11Sheets-Sheet 11 60 I00 I20 I40 I 200 220 Z40 Z60 E 300 320 340 360VERTICAL HEA n I I Can MINER VACUUM //v TO V VACUUM AOUUM lAcuuM Orrairlines, and the like.

United States Patent 3,018,594 CONTAINER FILLING AND SEALING MACHINESHarry Phillips, Hamilton, John J Maciejowski, Wenham, Wayne A. Shafer,Jr., Hamilton, Robert D. Tucker, Beverly, and George A. Fuller, Jr.,Wenham, Mass, assignors, by rnesne assignments, to Elmo-AlcoaContainers, Inc., Wheeling, lll., a corporation or lilinois Filed Nov.12, 1959, Ser. No. 852,562 36 Claims. (Cl. 5372) This invention relatesto packaging and more particularly to machinery for filling and sealingcontainers. The invention is illustrated herein as embodied in a machinefor automatically depositing a unit portion of a product in a containerand hermetically sealing it without human hands touching the containerof its product. The use of a disposable container holding a smallquantity of a product which is to be consumed without the containersubsequently being rescaled presents a definite advantage overconventional packaging methods in the matters of convenience of handlingand distribution when the protection aflorded by the container to itscontents permits lengthy storage before use. For example, food products,such as jams, syrups, condiments, etc., packaged in quantitiesrepresenting single servings or portions, in receptacles known as unitcontainers, are becoming increasingly more popular in restaurants,railroads, Since these containers most often are distributed directly totheir ultimate consumers for immediate use they must be easily openedwithout the aid of tools, such as a conventional can opener.

In the past, unit containers have been made of flexible plasticmaterial. However, a major disadvantage of a container made of this typeof material is that it is susceptible to penetration by air, andaccordingly its contents, if perishable, may spoil in a relatively shorttime. To overcome this and therefore provide a longer shelf life, unitcontainers are now being made of lightweight metals, such as aluminum,which, when hermetically sealed by plastic fusion with a cover of likematerial, afford protection to their contents for a considerably longertime and furthermore can be opened without the use of tools. Since theadvantage of the system of unit portion distribution is predicatedeconomically upon high quantity production, it is mandatory thatreliable, relatively high speed machinery, either automatic orsemiautomatic, be employed in the production and handling ofunitcontainers. Copending application Serial No. 751,519, now Patent No.2,972,216, filed July 28, 1958, in the name of Rudolph Schmidt, isdirected to a semiautomatic, hand-fed machine for filling and sealingsuch containers at a moderate rate of speed.

It is an object of this invention to produce a machine which, whileintended to make the same ultimate product, as the Schmidt machine, towit, a filled and sealed unit container, is fully automatic and capableof producing the filled and sealed containers at a substantially higherrate.

While unit containers may be used to package any product they areextremely useful as receptacles for foodstufis and an obvious advantageresides in the use of machinery which is capable of filling containerswith food and completely capping and sealing the containers without thenecessity of their ever being touched by human hands.

Therefore, another object of this invention is to provide a machine forautomatically filling and sealing unit containers in a continuous andautomatic process without the containers or their contents ever beingtouched. While there may be numerous sizes and shapes, a typical unitcontainer is a shallow, cylindrical, cup-like recep- 'tacle fabricatedpreferably of aluminum and having a 3,018,594 Patented Jan. 30, 1962 iceflange extending radially around the open end. The interior of the cupand the upper surface of the flange are coated with a thermoplasticmaterial, such as vinyl. An aluminum cap or cover which may be providedwith a label if desired, and having a similar coating is hermeticallysealed to the upper surface of the flange through fusing of the vinylcoatings on the mating surfaces of the flange and the cover. I

In accordance with the above objects and as a feature of this inventionthere is provided a machine for filling and hermetically sealing a unitcontainer of the abovedescribed type. The machine comprises an endlessconveyor mounting a plurality of carriers for transporting unitcontainers one at a time successively from a loading station to afilling station and a capping station. The conveyor carriers serve aplurality of purposes and each comprises a substantially hollow bodyhaving an open top which is defined by an annular supporting lip uponwhich the flange of the unit container rests with the body portion ofthe container extending into the hollow interior. The carrier contactsthe container only at the flange and is relieved below the supportinglip whereby heat, which has been previously applied to the carrier body,is transmitted directly to the flange only and not to the main orcup-like portion of the container or its contents. The heat is appliedto effect sealing when a cap having heat sensitive sealing material ispressed upon the upper surface of the flange.

Containers are loaded into the carriers at a loading station whichcomprises a second conveyor for moving the containers downwardly of aninclined raceway at the same linear speed as the carriers and spacedapart the same distance as the carriers are spaced on the main conveyor.

By this mechanism each container is gradually settled into a carrier andupon leaving the raceway its flange is pressed into firm engagement withthe carrier ,by a pressure applying member which is also provided withmeans for cleaning the container by vacuum. From the loading station thecontainers pass around a rotary filling machine which, per se, forms nopart of this invention. Thereafter, the containers pass to a multiheadcapping station having cap applying heads which remove one cap at a timeby vacuum from an associated magazine and forcibly places it in contactwith the upper surface of the flange to form a hermetic seal.Thereafter, the head which placed the cap removes the container from thecarrier and deposits it in a chute which conveys it to distributingmechanism which likewise, per se, does not form a part of the presentinvention.

Mechanism is provided for detecting the absence of a container from thecarrier, or stool as it is sometimes called, as it approaches thevarious work stations, particularly the capping station. the capapplying head does not come into contact with the carrier. Furthermore,if a cap is not picked up by the head, the vacuum is automatically shutoil and the head likewise does not come into contact with the carrier orthe container in it. From the capping station, the carriers pass througha heating mechanism which heats their bodies to a temperature sufficientto transmit heat to the flanges of the containers which are placed inthem in the next machine cycle. There are also means provided forremoving from the carriers any containers which inadvertently remaintherein after leaving the capping station.

The above and other features of the invention, including various noveldetails of construction and combinations of parts will now be moreparticularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings andpointed out in the claims. It will be understood that the particularmachine embodying the invent-ion is shown by If no container is present,

way of illustration only and not as a limitation of the invention. Theprinciples and features of this invention may be employed in numerousembodiments without departing from the scope of the invention.

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of the various work stations of amachine embodying the invention for automatically filling and sealingunit containers;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of portions of a container carrier and a capapplying head;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view, of portions of the apparatus shown in FIG. 2with the cap applying head in sealing position;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a unit container with its cap removed;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation of the apparatus for loading unfilled unitcontainers into the carriers;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of an ejector mechanism for removing unitcontainers from their carriers as well as a plan view of the loadingapparatus shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line VIIVII of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a plan view, partly in section, taken on the line VIIIVIII ofFIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken on the line IX-IX of FIG. 13;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken on the line X-X of FIG. 6;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken on the line XIXI of FIG. 6;

FIG. 12 is a time chart of the operation of the ejector mechanism shownin FIGS. 6, 10 and 11;

FIG. 13 is a plan view of the container capping station;

FIG. 14 is a side elevation of the capping station shown in FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a sectional view of a portion of the capping station taken onthe line XV-XV of FIG. 13;

FIG. 16 is a plan view, partly in section, taken on the line XVI-XVI ofFIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 15 and taken on the lineXVIIXVII of FIG. 13;

FIG. 18 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a vacuum controlvalve employed in the capping station in its normal position with thevacuum 01f;

FIG. 19 is a view of the vacuum control valve similar to FIG. 18 butwith its operative parts in position whereby the vacuum is turned on;

FIG. 20 is a time chart of the operation of various elements of acapping station; and

FIG. 21 is a sectional view of a container detecting mechanism taken onthe line XXIXXI of FIG. 13.

Referring first to FIG. 4, a unit container C will be seen comprising acylindrical, cup-shaped body portion 2 which is made of aluminum and hasa radially extending flange 4 around its open end. The interior of thebody or cup, as it may also be called, as well as the upper surface ofthe flange 4, is coated with thermoplastic material, such as polyvinylchloride. The coating on the flange may, as an alternative, be entirelypressure sensitive or both heat and pressure sensitive. A completecontainer includes an aluminum cap or cover 6 having substantially thesame diameter as the flange 4 and a pull tab portion 8. A label 10 maybe located on the upper surface, and on its lower surface the cap has acoating of heat and/or pressure sensitive material, similar to that onthe flange. The cap is hermetically sealed to the upper surface of theflange 4 through fusing of the vinyl coatings or adhering of thepressure sensitive material after the container has been filled.

An essential feature of the invention is embodied in a plurality ofcontainer carriers 12, also called stools (FIGS. 2 and 3), which areconstructed and arranged to carry unit containers one at a time throughall of the Work stations of the machine. The carriers serve a pluralityof purposes as will be more readily understood from the completedescription of the machine and its operation appearing hereinafter.However, in essence, each carrier comprises a substantially hollow body13 provided at its upper end with an annular supporting member in theform of a lip 14 defining the opening in the top. The interior of thecarrier comprises an opening of larger diameter than that of the unitcontainer body 2 whereby the unit container may be received in thecarrier with its body 2 extending downwardly into the hollow interior16, the undersurface of its annular flange 4 being supported on theannular lip 14. It will be noted also that the mass of the carrier body13 is substantially greater than that of the unit container filled orunfilled. Adjacent the lip 14, the hollow interior 16 of the stool isprovided with a downwardly diverging relieved portion 13 in order toprovide an air space between the wall of the carrier and the wall of thecontainer body 2, whereby the only contact between the carrier and thecontainer is along the engaging surfaces of the flange 4 and the lip 14.The importance of this feature will be more apparent hereinafter. Eachof the carriers has an opening 20 in the side wall below the open top inorder to provide a passageway for a beam of light which serves to detectthe absence of a container in a manner to be described in detailhereinafter. The opening 29 also serves to permit removal of anymaterial, which inadvertently enters the interior 16 of the carrier,more readily than through the top.

A plurality of carriers 12 are secured to an endless chain conveyor 22in upright position each by means of a depending stem 24 fitted into alink of the chain, as seen in FIG. 7. The carriers 12 and the chain 22form the nucleus of a conveyor system which cooperatively interconnectsall of the work stations of the machine. Referring to FIG. 1, which is aschematic diagram of the conveyor and work stations, there will be seenat the extreme left-hand portion, a loading station raceway 26 providedfor conducting preformed unit container bodies 2 to the machine. Thesebodies 2 may be supplied from a continuously operating forming press orfrom a supply of previously formed and stored containers. The raceway 26directs the bodies 2 to a loading station 28 which automaticallypositions one container body in each carrier 12. From here the thenloaded carrier is conducted to a pressing and vacuum cleaning device 30which removes from the container by vacuum any contaminating material,such as metallic chips, dirt and the like, which may inadvertently haveentered the container. Thence, the containers pass around an idlersprocket 32 which is provided with means for ascertaining whether or nota container is positioned in each carrier. If a container is notproperly located in a carrier, appropriate safety devices (not shown)are actuated to prevent the carrier from being filled. The carriers nextpass around a rotary filling station 36 whereupon they receive theircontents. The filling station may comprise either single or multiheadmechanism for filling either one or a plurality of containerssimultaneously. Whereas the filling machine per se forms no part of thepresent invention, it will be understood that in combination withvarious other elements and stations of the machine, the filling stationis considered to be an integral part of the invention and numerouscommercially available filling machines may be employed for thispurpose. From the filling station 36, the carriers with the then filledcontainers pass a second detector 38 which ascertains again whether ornot a filled container is in each carrier and, if not, actuatesappropriate safety mechanism for rendering inoperative the particularcapping mechanism which would otherwise cap the container. The carriersand their filled containers next pass around a rotary capping station 40whereupon a cap is positioned on each of the filled containers andhermetically sealed to its flange. After sealing has taken place, thefilled and capped containers are removed automatically from the cappingmechanism and deposited in a discharge chute 42 which conveys them awayfrom the machine to appropriate packaging apparatus.

After the filled and capped containers have been removed from thecarriers 12, the conveyor 22, to which the carriers are permanentlyattached, passes through a heating station 44 which heats the bodies ofthe carriers 12. It is the residual heat in the mass of the carrier bodywhich is conducted to the flange of the container by the annular lip 14to efiect hermetic sealing of the cap at the capping station. From theheating station 44 the conveyor passes around an ejecting station 46which serves to remove from the carriers any container which was notremoved at the discharge end of the capping station 40. From this pointthe carriers re-enter the loading station 28 to receive anothercontainer and carry it through another cycle.

The loading station will now be described referring particularly toFIGS. to 8. The containers enter the machine from the loading stationraceway 26 and pass onto a pair of spaced guide plates 50. The guideplates are located directly above the path of movement of the conveyorchain 22. After passing around a sprocket wheel 52, which is part of theejecting station 46 (FIGS. 1 and 6), the conveyor chain moves in astraight path, being guided by a pair of chain guides 54 secured to theframe 56 of the loading station. As best seen in FIG. 7, the carriers12, which extend upwardly from the chain 22 on their stems 24, likewiseare guided by a pair of elongated carrier guides 58 which extendlengthwise of the machine and are supported on a pair of upstandingsupport members 60 secured to the chain guides 54. The elongated carrierguides 58 are made of selflubrioated material, such as nylon, Teflon orthe like, and engage a hub 62 formed on the carrier stem 24. Thus, itwill be seen in FIGS. 5 and 7 that the carriers are precisely guidedalong a predetermined linear path, each with its uppermost surface, asdefined by the lip 14, in a horizontal plane.

Each container guide plate 50 is provided with a groove 64 (FIG. 7) toaccommodate the flanges 4 of the unit containers. The guide plates 50form a downwardly inclined container guideway 51 by being mounted in themachine so that they gradually descend from left to right, as viewed inFIG. 5, towardthe path of the carriers. Shortly after they reach theguide plates 50 from the raceway 26 the movement of each container C isinterrupted by a pair of spring-pressed yieldable stop members 66 (FIGS.7 and 8) which are adjustably secured in the frame of the machine.

Mounted directly above the guideway 51 on brackets 70 is a secondconveyor 72 in the form of an endless chain. The left-hand end of thechain passes around a driving sprocket 74 and the right-hand end aroundan idler sprocket 76 adjustably mounted on the machine by a movablebracket 78. The driving sprocket 74 is keyed to a shaft 80 (FIG. 5)andis driven through gears 82, 84 by a shaft 86 which mounts thesprocket wheel 52 of the ejecting station 46. The driving chain 72 isprovided with flat table top links 88. Located on every third link is alug 90 in the form of a disk of rubber, nylon or other resilientmaterial. The linear distance between the lugs 90 is exactly equal tothe linear distance between adjacent carriers 12 on the conveyor chain22.

The linear speed of the conveyor chain 72 likewise is equal to thelinear speed of the main conveyor 22. The

.purpose of the lugs 90, is to cause entry of the containers into thecarriers. As each unit container C proceeds from the raceway 26 to theguideway 51, its movement is retarded by the springbiased stop members66 until it is engaged by one of the lugs 90 whereupon it is moved outof engagement with the stop members and down the inclined guideway 51,as seen in FIG. 5.

:The lugs 90 are located on the chain 72 so that the leading edgeo'fevery lug is directly over the leading edge of the interior opening ofthe corresponding carrier 12. As the lug conducts the containerdownwardly of the inclined guideway 51, it gradually approaches thecarrier and as it nears the lowermost end of the guideway 51, it beginsto settle into the carrier. This will be seen taking place at theright-hand end of FIG. 5. By the time the containers C reach the idlersprocket 76 they have settled into the carriers with their flanges 4resting upon the supporting lips 14 of the carriers and, as the conveyorchain 72 passes around the idler sprocket 76 the lugs are Withdrawn fromthe carriers, the containers being propelled entirely then by thecarriers.

After becoming disengaged from the lugs 90 each of the carriers 12,which is then carrying an empty cont ainer, passes through the vacuumcleaning and pressing station 30 comprising a resilient presser member92 which urges every container into firm contact with its carrier 12.Adjacent the presser member 92 is a conduit 94 which is connected to asource of vacuum. The diameter of the conduit 94 is slightly less thanthe outer diameter of the flange 4 of a container so that the lowersurface 96 of the conduit which engages the flange 4 will prevent thecontainer from being withdrawn from the carrier by the vacuum. However,any chip, dirt or other foreign material which may inadvertently haveentered into the container is removed therefrom.

After the containers C have been loaded, one to each carrier, and arevacuum cleaned they are conducted to the filling station 36 by passingaround the idler sprocket 32 which changes the direction of the chain inorder that it may be in engagement with the periphery of the rotaryfilling station for about 180. As stated above, the filling station perse is not a part of this invention but may be of any convenient type.However, a multihead rotary filler is preferable.

After the containers have been filled, they are conveyed to the cappingstation 40 where the flat metallic cap 6 is sealed to the upper surfaceof the container body flange 4 by a fusing of the vinyl coatings on thecontacting surfaces. The capping station 40 is best seen in FIGS. 13-47.The endless chain 22 which mounts the carriers passes around a largediameter continuously rotating sprocket wheel 100 which is an integralpart of the capping machine. The carriers 12 occupy positionssubstantially on the pitch line of the teeth of the sprocket (see FIGS.15 and 17). As each container passes around the periphery of the wheel,it receives a cap from a separate magazine 102. There are 36 magazinescircumferentially spaced about the periphery of the sprocket wheel 100located slightly inwardly radially of its pitch line. Each .rnagazine102 comprises a substantially teardrop shaped container (FIG. 16) havingan interior formed to accommodate the cap 6, that is, circular buthaving a projecting tab 8 on one side. The magazines 102 are formed oftwo pieces of sheet metal flanged as at 104 and welded together. Each ofthe magazines fits into a separate recess 106 in the sprocket wheel 100and is is provided with a rod 110 surrounded by a spring 112, the rodpassing through an arm 114 extending outwardly from a hub 116 which iskeyed to the main vertical shaft 118 of the capping station. The shaftalso mounts the sprocket wheel 100. One butterfly clamp 108 serves tohold two magazines in position, there being twice as many magazines asclamps. To refill the magazine, the butterfly clamp is rotated 90 andthe magazine removed downwardly from the recess 106. A follower member120 having a plurality of depending guiding legs 121 is positioned ineach of the magazines 102 and is urged upwardly by acoiled compressionspring 122. A stack of caps 6 is placed within the magazine above thefollowlying edges 124 of plates 126 (FIG. 16) secured to the wheel 100between adjacent magazines. Depending fingers 128 of the plates 126engage the magazines and serve to locate them accurately in the recess106. The stack of caps is urged upwardly but cannot inadvertently comeout of the magazine because of the presence of the plates 126. Theuppermost cap is removed by vacuum by means now to be described.

Associated with each of the magazines 102 is a cap applying head 130 orcapping head as it is also called, which removes, by vacuum, theuppermost cap from the stack in the magazine and transports the capupwardly and radially outwardly until it is positioned over the tfilledcontainer which is located in the carrier 12 substantially on the pitchline of the sprocket wheel 100.

Each head 130 is mounted in and movable radially of the machine in abell-shaped flange member 132 which is spaced above the sprocket wheel100. Hubs 136 and 134 on the member 132 and the sprocket wheel 100,respectively, as well as struts 138 separate the flange and the sprocketwheel. The struts likewise add rigidity to the structure. The hubs 134and 136 are keyed to the central main shaft 118 which is located at thevertical axis of the machine whereby all of the above-described elementsrotate as a single unit.

The heads 130 move radially of the machine from positions directly abovethe magazine 102 (FIG. 17) to positions directly above the carriers 12(FIG. 15). To obtain the radial movement, each head is mounted in aslide 140 movable in a guideway 141 in the member 132. A cam roller 142journaled on the slide is positioned within a cam slot 144 formed in awall member 146 'depending from an upper stationary circular top orcover member 148 of the machine. The shape of the cam slot 144 will beseen in plan view in FIG. 13. It is sutficient, at this time, to pointout that the slides 140 and their heads 130 are caused to move radiallyinwardly and outwardly between the magazines 102 and the containercarriers 12 and back again.

Each cap applying head 130, seen in section in FIGS. 15 and 17, as wellas partially and in detail in FIG. 3, comprises an apertured disk 150 ofrubber or like material containing a plurality of holes 152 leading to abottom or suction surface 153. The disk is fitted within a receiver 154which is recessed somewhat more than the vertical thickness of the diskthereby leaving a vacuum chamber 156 above the disk to provide a commoncommunicating passageway between all of the holes 152. Likewise,communicating with the chamber 156 is an air fitting 158 attached to anair line 160.

The head 130 is yieldably mounted by a rubber connector 162 to the lowerend of a plunger 164. The plunger is slidable vertically in a sleeve 166(FIGS. 15 and 17) between limits controlled by a conventional slot andpin connection 168. The plunger 164 is maintained in a downward positionrelative to the sleeve 166 by a preloaded spring 170 compressed betweenthe upper end of the plunger 172 and a plug 174 rotatably fitting in theupper end of the sleeve 166. Journaled in the upper bifurcated end ofthe plug 174 is a cam roller 176 which engages the lower face of aprofile cam track 178 formed on the cover member 148. The sleeve 166 isurged upwardly relatively to a sleeve 180 by a spring 182. The sleeve180 forms a part of the slide 140. The spring 182 is compressed betweena cap 184 and a shoulder 186 at the base of the sleeve 180. The cap 184has an inwardly projecting flange 185 held against a Washer 187 retainedbetween the sleeve 166 and the plug 174. By this construction the camroller 176 is forcibly urged into contact with the cam track 178. Thecam track is concentric with the slotted cam track 144 so that theroller 176 never is out of engagement with the cam 178 when the carriermoves radially. A vertical slot 188 is formed in the plunger 1'64 and alocking pin 190, slidable radially in a horizontal plane in the slide140, is

8 engageable with the slot to lock the plunger 164 and, consequently,the pressure applying capping head in an upper position out ofengagement with the carrier 12 under circumstances to be describedhereinafter. The locking pin 190 is provided with inner and outerannular grooves 192 and 194, respectively, which are engagedalternately, by a spring-biased detent 196, when the pin 190 is ineither the outer or inner position. A head 198 is located on the outerend of the locking pin 190 to which head forces are applied by meanshereinafter to be described to move the pin into and out of the lockingposition.

The pressure applying heads 130 operate to seal caps to the uppersurfaces of the flanges 4 of the filled containers in the followingmanner. Referring particularly to FIGS. 13 and 20, the rotary cappingcycle will be described in conventional manner with zero degreesrotation of the capping station 40 represented by the bottom of FIG. 13and the left-hand end of the diagram of FIG. 20. At 265 each head 130 isin its lowermost position with the suction surface 153 of the disk inengagement with the uppermost cap in the magazine. The vacuum, it willbe noticed, is turned on at 270 by means hereinafter to be described indetail, so that the uppermost cap in the magazine sticks to the lowersuction surface 153 by vacuum. When the magazine 102 and head 130 haverotated to 320, the vertical movement of the capping head begins. Itwill be seen in FIG. 14 that the earn 178 is constructed with a rise 200which permits the head to rise under the force of the spring 182. Atthis time the vacuum is still on and the capping head 130 is still inits inner position radially. The rise is complete at 340 whereupon theslide 140 begins to move outwardly in its guideway 141 under the actionof the slotted cam track 144 until the capping head 130 is directlyabove the container in the carrier 12, as seen in FIG. 15. This takesplace at 360 or 0 of rotation. At approximately 13 a slight downwardslope 202 (FIG. 14) in the cam 178 causes the head 130 to be cammeddownwardly whereby the cap 6 is pressed into contact with the uppersurface of the flange 4 of the container C. The downward pressingmovement is complete at 25 This is known as the sealing position and isshown in FIG. 3. In this position the cap becomes hermetically sealed tothe flange, the vinyl coatings becoming fused. The heat for effectingfusing is transmitted to the flange 4 of the container by the carrier 12itself. As stated above, the carrier has considerably greater mass thanthe container, but engages the container only at the undersurface of theflange, as seen in FIG. 3, the relieved portion 18 and the extra depthof the interior 16 preventing contact with the walls and bottom of thecontainer body 2. Consequently, residual heat which was supplied to thecarriers before they received their containers by means hereinafter tobe described, is transmitted by the lip 14 to the flange 4 only. Thesealing position continues between 25 and 95 rotation of the station.

When the container reaches the 95 point, another rise in the cam 178,not seen in the drawings, permits elevation of the head 130. The vacuumat this time is still on. Accordingly, the then sealed container islifted physically from the carrier (FIG. 2) being stuck to the suctionsurface 153 of the disk 150. The removal is complete at 110 and theconveyor chain 22 is thereafter free to become disengaged from thesprocket wheel 100. Thereupon, the conveyor conducts its then emptiedcarriers away from the capping machine as seen in FIG. 13. However, thefilled and capped containers are carried further around the periphery ofthe machine to the point where the vacuum is instantaneously turned off,causing the capped container to drop from the head 130. Arrangeddirectly below the path of movement of the capping heads is a conveyorchute 204 (FIG. 2) down which the'then capped and sealed containersslide to appropriate cooling and packaging means not forming a part ofthis invention. The chute 204 may be conducted to a conveyor system suchas that disclosed in copending application Serial No. 775,888, filledNovember 24, 1958, in the names of Wetherbee et al., which disclosesmechanism for distributing the filled and sealed containers to coolingmechanism.

The head 136 remains in its upper and outer position until it reachesthe 215 point whereupon the slide 140 is again moved inwardly by the camtrack 144. At 235 the head is again in its inner position above themagazine whereupon a down slope (not shown) in the vertical cam track178 moves the head downwardly to its cap engaging position over themagazine 102. At 265 it is in engagement with the next cap in themagazine and the vacuum is again turned on at 270. The capping head,which has fully engaged the next cap in the magazine, is now ready torepeat the cycle on a container in another carrier. Since there are 36capping heads and the machine operates continuously, 35 additionalcontainers have been filled and capped in the interim between cycles ofeach individual head.

The vacuum employed at each of the heads 130 to pick up caps, etc., iscontrolled by a separate valve 206, one of which is shown in itsoperative position on the machine in FIGS. 15 and 17 and in detail inFIGS. 18 and 19. All of the valves 206 have a common valve body in theform of a ring 208 secured by clamps 210 to an upper portion of theflange member 132. An annular groove 212 formed in the ring 208 andcovered by a plate 214 S61V6S as a chamber connecting all of the valvesto .a common source of vacuum. Four air fittings 216 threaded in theplate 214 place the annular groove 212 in communication with a vacuumpump 218 (FIG. 14) by way of pipes 220 radiating from air fittings 222in the main vertical shaft 118. A bore 224 in the shaft 118 communicateswith the pump by appropriate piping 226 (FIG. 14). By this constructionthe annular groove 212 is at all times maintained in a state of vacuumor, at least, at a pressure below atmospheric.

Each of the valves 206, shown in detail in FIGS. 18 and 19, comprisesthe aforementioned common body portion 208 and a radial bore 232 inwhich slides a piston 234. Integral with the piston 234 is a plunger 236provided with a head 238 having the shape of a truncated cone. A spring240 in the closed end of the bore 232 acts against the end of the piston234 to urge it to the right as viewed in FIG. 18. The bore 232 formspart of a passageway from the vacuum source to the capping head 136 and,depending on the location of the piston 234, the passageway is eitherblocked or the capping head is in open communication with the vacuumsource. An annular chamber 242 in the body surrounding the bore 232communicates with the bore by way of radial passageways 244 and with thechamber 212 by way of passageways 246 and 248, the size of the latterbeing controlled by an adjustable needle valve 250. As stated above, thevacuum (or at least pressure less than atmospheric) exists at all timesin the annular chamber 212 and hence in the annular chamber 242 as well.

The flexible line 160 which leads to the capping head 131) is joined tothe valve body by a fitting 252 and communicates with the bore 232 byway of a passageway 254, an annular groove 256 and radial passageways258. Larger radial passageways 260 extend from the outside of the valveinto communication with the forward end of the bore 232. A necked areaor annulus 262 surrounds the middle of the piston 234 and communicatesat all times with the annular groove 256 which leads to the flexibleline 160. This annulus also communicates with either the vacuum chamber212 or with atmosphere via the passageways 260 depending upon whether ornot the piston is in the FIG. 19 or FIG. 18 position. As stated above,the position of the piston 234 thereby determines whether or not thecapping head is at vacuum or at atmospheric pressure.

A central counterbore 264 in the piston 234 is in communication at alltimes with the rear or left-hand end of the bore 232 where the spring240 is located. It is likewise in communication at all times with theannulus or necked area 262 of the piston, the latter by way of radialpassageways 266. Thus, the closed or left-hand end of the bore 232,where the spring 240 is located, will always be at the same pressure asthe capping head 131) since the annulus 262 always communicates with thehead 130. The spring 246 at all times tends to urge the piston 234 intothe FIG. 18 or normal position whereby the line 160 and hence thecapping head 130 are at atmospheric pressure. In this position thevacuum exists only in the chambers and passageways 212, 248, 246, 242and 244.

The vacuum is turned on at the capping head when the piston 234 isdisplaced to the left as seen in FIG. 19 by the conical head 238 of theplunger 236 being cammed inwardly by a fixed cam 270 (FIG. 13) attachedto the frame of the machine at the 270 point, see also FIG. 20. When thepiston is so displaced, i.e. to the FIG. 19 position, the necked area orannulus 262 in the piston unblocks the vacuum passageway between thevacuum chamber 212 and the line 160 leading to the capping head which,of course, creates suction at the head. However, it will be rememberedthat the spring 240 is constantly attempting to urge the piston back tothe FIG. 18 position, but in spite of this force, the piston does notreturn because the left-hand end of the bore 232, which is always at thesame pressure as the capping head, is now at vacuum by being incommunication with the vacuum chamber 212 by way of the centralcounterbore 264, passageways 266, the annulus 262 and the chambers andpassageways 242, 244, 246 and 248. The spring 240 is designed so thatits force on the piston 234 is less than the force of the vacuum ornegative pressure, which it may also be called, which maintains thepiston 234 in the FIG. 19 position.

As stated above, the vacuum is off when the plunger 236 is out and thevacuum is on when the plunger is in. With reference to FIG. 13 and thetiming chart (FIG. 20), at the 160 point on the machine there will beseen a cam 272 which comprises an L-shaped bracket mounted on a plate273. The depending leg of the plate extends downwardly and into the pathof movement of the plungers 236 and is set at an angle whereby itengages the inner ends of the conical heads 238 on the plungers towithdraw the plungers and consequently the pistons 234 as they move by.The process is reversed in order to turn the vacuum back on by theabove-mentioned cam 270 which has a depending curved camming surfaceengageable with the forward end of the headed portion 238 of eachplunger. Thus, as the plungers move against the cam 270 they are urgedinwardly to turn the vacuum on and against the cam 272 to turn thevacuum off.

Should the cap applying head 130 fail to pick up a cap for any reason,as for example, if the magazine 102 is empty, the suction at the cappinghead will be shut 01f automatically. It is obvious that if the cappinghead came down upon a container filled with a fluid or viscoussubstance, such as jam or ketchup, without having a cap in contact withthe suction surface 153 of the rubber disk 150, the contents of thecontainer would be drawn into the capping head 130 resulting in itsbecoming rather sticky and perhaps inoperative requiring extensivecleaning. However, if the rubber disk fails to pick up a cap, air willbe drawn through the vertical bores 152 into the chamber 156 thencethrough the line 160 to the control valve 206. The air passessuccessively through the annular passageway 256, the radial passageways258, annulus 262 of the piston, thence through the radial passageways266 into the central counterbore 264 in the .piston and finally into theclosedchamber to the left of 11 then no longer be at vacuum. Flow of lowpressure air back to the main source of vacuum is restricted by thevalve 2556 allowing pressure in the chamber to the left of the piston toapproach atmospheric. Thus, the counterbalancing vacuum force on thepiston no longer will exist and the spring 240 will immediately returnthe piston to the FIG. 18 or shut off position whereupon suction will nolonger exist at the surface 153 of the capping head. All of theforegoing takes place, of course, after the earn 278 is no longereflective to hold the plunger 236 inwardly. Thus it has been shown thatunder the two conditions of (a) Where there is failure to pick up a capor (b) where there is no cap available to be picked up, the systemautomatically shuts off the suction before any damage takes place.

If no cap has been picked up by the head 136 when it is cammeddownwardly into sealing position, the surface 153 of the rubber disk 150would engage the upper surface of the flange 4 of the container. Sincethe upper surface of the flange is coated with a pressure and/ or heatsensitive material, the flange 4- would adhere to the surface 153 of thehead thereby rendering it inoperative. To prevent the head from movingdownwardly into engage ment with the container under these conditions, asafety locking mechanism is provided and is best seen in FIG. 15. A tripfinger 286 is secured to the lower end of a shaft 282 pivotally mountedin a boss 234 on the top 148 of the machine. A depending stationary arm286 is secured to the lower end of the boss. When the plunger 236 is inthe extended or vacuum shut off position, its head 238 will pass to theright of the stationary arm 286 and contact the trip finger 280 causingthe shaft 282 to pivot. The resistance offered by the arm 280 couldnormally urge the plunger 236 back in but the arm 286 engaging the innersurface of the head 238 prevents such return movement. Adjustablyattached to the upper end of the shaft 282 is 'a lever arm 288, theposition of which is controlled by an adjustable stop screw 289 (FIG.13). The lever arm 288 and, consequently, the trip finger 280 are urgedin a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 13, into engagementwith the adjustable stop screw 289 by a tension spring 290. The oppositeend of the lever arm 288 engages the plunger 292 of a microswitch 294which switch is Wired in series with a solenoid 296. The plunger 298 ofthe solenoid is connected to a bell crank 300 by an adjustableconnecting rod 302. A second bell crank 304 fulcrumed at 306 to aportion 308 of the machine frame is connected to the bell crank 309 by aconnecting rod 310. The upper arm 312 of the bell crank 304 is curvedand terminates in position, as seen in FIG. 15, opposite the path ofmovement of the head 198 of the locking pin 190 in the slide 140.

The mechanism operates in the following manner. If the plunger 236 ofthe control valve 206 is in its outer or vacuum shut off position thetrip finger 280 is pivoted thereby actuating the microswitch 294 whichcloses the circuit to the solenoid 296, which, through the bell crank300, pivots the bell crank 304 in a counterclockwise direction, as seenin FIG. 15, thereby driving the locking pin into the slot 188 in theplunger 164 of the capping head 130. This locks the plunger in an upperposition with the head 130 out of engagement with the container in thecarrier, or, if there is no container in the carrier, out of engagementwith the annular lip 14 of the carrier.

In order to permit the capping head to operate in a normal manner in thenext cycle, the locking pin 190 must be withdrawn from the slot 188.This is accomplished by a cam 314 (FIG. 13) which engages the innersurface of the head 198 of the locking pin 190, pulling it outwardly.The location of the cam 314 is such that the locking pin is onlywithdrawn during that portion of the cycle wherein the head 130 isnormally elevated, to wit, between 115 and 235.

If there is no container in the carrier 12 when the capping headcarrying a cap is urged downwardly, it would 12 seal the cap to theupper heated flange or lip 14- of the carrier which is obviously to beavoided since the carrier would then no longer be able to receivecontainers. Appropriate detecting means now to be described are providedto prevent this from occurring.

Slightly in advance of the capping station, as seen in the lowerleft-hand corner of FIG. 13 and in detail in FIG. 21, is an electric-eyecontainer detecting device comprising a lamp 320 and a photoelectriccell 322. As seen in FIG. 21, the lamp is mounted on a bracket 321slightly to one side and below the carrier 12 as it is conveyed by thechain 22 toward the capping station. The photoelectric cell 322 ismounted on a bracket 323 above and on the other side of the carrierwhereby if there is no container in the carrier, the light will shinethrough the opening 20 in the side wall of the carrier and out throughthe open top to actuate the photo cell. Cooperating with the lightsource and cell is a shutter mechanism 324 mounted for rotation in aplane slightly above the top of the carrier. The shutter is providedwith blades 326 and is rotated at a peripheral speed equal to that ofthe chain 22 whereby each blade passes between adjacent carriers so asto block off the light source from the cell. This assures that the onlytime the cell will be actuated is when there is a container missing fromthe carrier and not by the gap between carriers, such as would be thecase if there were no shutter. The shutter is fixed to a shaft 327 towhich there is also attached a sprocket 328 of equal diameter whichengages the chain 22 to drive the shutter mechanism.

The photo cell 322 actuates a solenoid 329 (FIGS. 13 and 17) by means ofa conventional thyratron triggering circuit (not shown). The solenoid32-9 is adjustably connected to a bell crank 330 which is pivoted on thetop 148 of the machine and has an arm 331 extending downwardly to thelevel where the vacuum control valves 206 are located. A trip lever 332is pivoted at the lower end of the bell crank 330, a spring 334 urgingthe trip lever into engagement with an adjustable stop 336. A dependingfinger 338 on the trip lever 332 is located slightly inwardly of thenormal path of the heads 238 of the plungers' 236 of the vacuum controlvalves. When the photo cell detects an empty carrier, the solenoid 329is actuated pivoting the bell crank 330 in a counterclockwise direction,as seen in FIG. 17, whereupon finger 338 engages behind the head 238 ofthe valve pulling it outwardly shutting off the vacuum.

Since the vacuum has been turned off by the bell crank 330 at 310 (FIGS.13 and 20), the cap which would have been picked up is not lifted fromthe magazine but the head begins to rise without it. Upon reaching thetrip finger 280 at 360 the head 238 of the then projectmg valve plunger236 pivots it, causing the locking pin to be driven into the slot 188 ofthe capping head 130 in the manner explained above, thereby locking thehead upwardly out of position. This prevents the head from descendingupon the empty but heated carrier 12 which could cause damage to thehead.

Thus, it has been seen that if there is no container C in a carrier 12,the vacuum is shut off and the capping head 130 does not descend.Secondly, if there is no cap in the magazine 102, the vacuum is shut offand furthermore the head is prevented from descending upon the filledand heated container. Likewise, if the head 130 should fail to pick up acap even though its magazinc is full, the vacuum is shut off and thehead prevented from descending upon the container. It has also beenshown that, whereas each of these safety devices becomes fully operablefor any of the above reasons during one cycle before the next cycle hasbegun the head 130 is unlocked and is returned to its operative positionand the system returned to normal. It is also to be noted that shuttingoff of the vacuum at one head or the locking of one head in elevatedposition in no way afiects the operation of the remaining 35 heads ortheir vacuum control valves 206. Accordingly; the malfunction of eitherone carrier, one magazine or one head does not cause any down time ofthe complete machine or the other heads.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 9 and 13, the means for heating the carriers 12will now be described. After the carriers 12 pass out of engagement withthe capping machine and after the filled and sealed containers areelevated from them and are dropped into the delivery chute 204, thecarriers 12 pass through the heating station 44 which comprises anelongated tunnel-like structure or housing 340 of metal which is mountedon a suitable frame member 342. The housing 34th is designed with a heatreflecting interior and extending lengthwise of the housing above thecarriers 12 are a plurality of Calrod units 344- which are heated by anyappropriate electrical source. The Calrod units radiate heat directly tothe carriers as they pass through the interior of the housing 340. Thecarriers are of sufficient mass that after initially being heated theyremain relatively hot imparting only a small amount of their total heatto the flanges of the containers whereby the subsequent passages throughthe heating tunnel or housing 340 need be of only short duration whichin no way slows down the operation of the machine.

After passing through the heating station 44 the carriers are againready to receive containers at the loading station 23 but not beforeeach carrier is automatically sensed at the ejecting station 46 todetermine the presence of any previously capped and/or filled containerwhich may inadvertently not have been lifted from the carrier by thecapping head 13%. At the time each carrier passes around the sprocketwheel 52 which is located at the advanced or left-hand end of theloading station 28, each carrier is probed mechanically from below withejector fingers which serve to remove containers from them. The ejectorstation 46 will best be seen in FIGS. 5, 6 and through 12. Referringparticularly to FIG. 6, it will be seen that each of the carriers isprovided with a pair of openings 350 in its bottom arranged one at eachside of the stem 24. The openings 350 are arranged to receive a pair offingers 352 for probing and lifting the container in the manner shown inFIG. 11. The fingers are the bifurcated ends of a plate 354. Each plate354 is attached to the upper end of a vertical rod 356 which is slidablein a hub 358 in the sprocket Wheel 52. The inner end of the plate 354 isslotted as at 360, which slots cooperate with a vertical pin 362 toassure alignment of the fingers 352 with the openings 359 in thecarriers 12 when the lifting fingers are caused to rise through thecarriers. The plates 354 and consequently the fingers 352 are elevatedby a stationary slotted cam 364 mounted below the sprocket wheel 52, aroller cam follower 366 on the lower end of each of the rods 356engaging the slotted cam 364. As the carriers pass around the sprocketwheel 52, the rollers 366, at 195 (FIG. 12), engage the slotted cam 364whereupon the fingers 352 are cammed upwardly through the carriers inthe manner shown in FIG. 11, lifting any inadvertently remainingcontainer from the carriers. Located above the carriers but interposedin the path of an elevated container is a deflector 368 which engagesand deflects ,the container into a downwardly inclined chute 370 whichleads to any convenient collecting point. After passing the chute 370,the cam track 364 slopes downwardly, causing the fingers to descendthrough the open ings 355} in the carriers, returning to their normalposition at 320. At this point all of the carriers are thereforepositively assured of being free of containers and as seen in FIG. 6,again pass to the loading station 28 whereupon the cycle is begun again.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a container filling and capping machine, an endless conveyormounting a plurality of carriers for trans- 75 porting containerssuccessively from a loading station to a filling station and a cappingstation, a plurality of cap applying heads at the capping station forapplying caps to filled containers, means for operating each of said capapplying heads to remove filled and capped containers from theircarriers, and ejecting means located after the capping station and inadvance of the loading station for removing from each carrier anycontainer inadvertently remaining therein after leaving said cappingstation.

2. In a machine for continuously filling and capping flanged containers,an endless conveyor mounting a plurality of carriers for transportingcontainers successively to a plurality of work stations, a cappingstation having means for applying a cap to the flange of each containerby heat and pressure, each carrier having a body portion and means fortransmitting residual heat from the body portion directly only to theflange of the containers, and a station for heating each carrier afterthe preceding capped container has been removed and before the nextcontainer is filled, whereby heat is transmitted to the flange of thecontainer from the carrier.

3. In a machine for filling and capping flanged containers, an endlessconveyor mounting a plurality of carriers for transporting containerssuccessively from a loading station to a filling station and a cappingstation, the carriers having means to transmit heat to the flanges ofthe containers only, means at the capping station for sealing caps tothe flanges of the containers by heat and pressure, said heattransmitting means being constructed and arranged for supporting thecontainer against the pressure of the capping operation without pressurebeing applied to the filled contents of the container, and means forheating the carriers when no container is located therein, whereby theheat for sealing is conveyed directly to the flanges of the containersfrom the carriers.

4. In a machine for filling and sealing flanged containers, means fortransporting containers successively to a plurality of work stationscomprising an endless conveyor mounting a plurality of carriers, eachcarrier comprising an open-top body having a hollow interior, annularsupporting means defining the opening in the top and engageable with theundersurface of the container flange to support the flange with thecontainer extending into the body, the interior of the body beingsubstantially larger than the container, whereby contact between thecarrier and the container takes place only between the supporting meansand the flange.

5. In a machine for filling and sealing flanged containers, means fortransporting containers successively to a plurality of work stationscomprising an endless conveyor mounting a plurality of carriers, eachcarrier comprising a hollow, open-top body, and annular supporting meansdefining the opening in the top and engageab'lewith the undersurface ofthe container flange with the container extending into the carrier, thehollow interior of the carrier body being relieved adjacent the annularsupporting means, thereby to provide a space between the inner body walland the container except where the container flange engages thesupporting means.

6. In a machine for filling and sealing flanged containers, means fortransporting containers successively to a plurality of work stationscomprising an endless conveyor mounting a plurality of carriers, eachcarrier comprising an open-top body having a hollow interior ofsubstantially larger volume than the container it is to carry and havingan annular lip defining the opening in the top and engageable with theflange of the container to support the flange with the containerextending into the carrier body, and means for heating the carrier body,the mass of the carrier body being substantially greater than thecontainer carried therein, whereby the heat applied to the carrier willbe rapidly transferred to the flange of the container by the engaginglip.

7. In a machine for filling and sealing flanged containers, means fortransporting containers successively to a plurality of work stationscomprising an endless conveyor mounting a plurality of carriers, eachcarrier comprising an open-top body having a hollow interior and havingan annular lip defining the opening in the top and engageable with theflange of the container to support the flange with the containerextending into the carrier body, means for heating the carrier body, themass of the carrier body being substantially greater than the container,the hollow interior of the carrier body being substantially larger involume than the container and relieved adjacent the annular lip therebyto provide an insulating space between the carrier and the container,whereby heat will be transferred from the body to the container flangeonly.

8. In a machine for filling and sealing flanged containers, means fortransporting containers successively to a plurality of work stationscomprising an endless conveyor mounting a plurality of carriers, eachcarrier comprising a substantially hollow, open-top body for receiving acontainer and having an annular lip defining the opening in the top andengageable with the undersurface of the container flange to support theflange with the container extending into the hollow interior of thebody, at least one opening in the bottom of the carrier, and means forprojecting a container ejector rod through the bottom opening after thecarrier has left the last work station to remove any containersinadvertently remaining in the carriers.

9. In a machine for applying caps to discrete flanged containers, anendless conveyor mounting a plurality of spaced container carriers, eachcontainer carrier comprising an open-top body having a hollow interiorand having annular supporting means defining the opening in the top andengageable with the flange of a container to support the flange with thecontainer extending into the carrier body, a cap applying headassociated with each carrier and having an apertured surface connectedto a source of vacuum, means for moving the head into engagement with asupply of caps to remove a cap therefrom by vacuum, means to urge thehead against the carrier thereby to press the removed cap against theflange for sealing the cap to the container, photoelectric means fordetecting the absence of a container from the body, and means responsiveto the photoelectric detection means for disconnecting the head from thesource of vacuum, whereby no cap will be removed if no container ispresent in the body.

10. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means fortransporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising anendless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, one stationcomprising capping mechanism having a plurality of capping heads, a capmagazine associated with each head, means for operating each head toremove a cap from the magazine and seal it to a container in a carrier,and means for operating each head to remove the container from thecarrier after the container has been scaled.

11. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means fortransporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising anendless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, one stationcomprising capping mechanism having a plurality of capping heads, a capmagazine associated with each head, vacuum means associated with eachhead, means for operating each head to remove a cap from the magazine byvacuum and seal it to a container in a carrier, and means for operatingeach head to remove the container by vacuum by vacuum from the carrierafter the container has been scaled.

12. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means fortransporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising anendless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, one stationcomprising capping mechanism having a plurality of capping heads, a capmagazine associated with each head, vacuum means associated with eachhead, means for operating each head to remove a cap from the magazine byvacuum and seal it to a container in a carrier, means for operating eachhead to remove the container by vacuum from the carrier after thecontainer has been scaled, and means for rendering the capping headinoperative if there is no container in the carrier, whereby a cap isnot sealed to the empty carrier.

13. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means fortransporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising anendless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, one stationcomprising capping mechanism having a plurality of capping heads, a capmagazine associated with each head, vacuum means associated with eachhead, means for operating each head to remove a cap from the magazine byvacuum and seal it to a container in a carrier, means for operating eachhead to remove the container by vacuum from the carrier after thecontainer has been sealed, and means for rendering the vacuum meansinoperative if there is no container in the carrier, whereby no cap willbe removed from the magazine.

14. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means fortransporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising anendless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, one stationcomprising capping mechanism having a plurality of capping heads, a capmagazine associated with each head, vacuum means associated with eachhead, means for operating each head to remove a cap from the magazine byvacuum and seal it to a container in a carrier, means for operating eachhead to remove the container by vacuum from the carrier after thecontainer has been sealed, means for rendering the vacuum meansinoperative if there is no container in the carrier whereby no cap willbe removed from the magazine, and means responsive to the inoperativelyrendered vacuum means for rendering the capping head inoperative,whereby the capping head will not engage the empty carrier.

15. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means fortransporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising anendless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, one stationcomprising capping mechanism having a plurality of presure applyingcapping heads, a cap magazine associated with each head, means foroperating each head to remove a cap from the magazine and seal it bypressure to a container in a carrier, means for operating each head toremove the container from the carrier after it has sealed the cap to it,and means for maintaining the capping head out of engagement with thecontainer if it has not removed a cap from the magazine.

16. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means fortransporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising anendless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, one stationcomprising capping mechanism having a plurality of pressure applyingcapping heads, a cap magazine associated with each head, means foroperating each head to remove a cap from the magazine and seal it bypressure to a container in a carrier, means for operating each head toremove the container from the carrier after it has sealed the cap to it,and means for maintaining the capping head out of engagement with thecarrier if no container is in the carrier.

17. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means fortransporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising anendless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, one stationcomprising rotary capping mechanism having a plurality of capping headsspaced around the station, a slide mounting each capping head formovement radially of the capping station, a cap magazine associated witheach capping head, means for locating a container carrier adjacent eachcap magazine, each capping head having means for removing a cap from themagazine and for sealing it to a container in the carrier, and means formoving each slide radially from a position in which its capping head isaligned with the magazine to a position wherein it is aligned with theassociated carrier.

18. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means fortransporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising anendless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, one stationcomprising rotary capping mechanism having a plurality of capping headsspaced around the station, a slide mounting each capping head formovement radially of the capping station, a cap magazine associated witheach capping head, means for locating a container carrier adjcent eachcap magazine, each capping head having means for removing a cap from themagazine and for sealing it to a container in the carrier, means formoving each slide radially from a position in which its capping head isaligned with the magazine to a position wherein it is aligned with theassociated carrier, and means for moving the capping head intoengagement with a cap when it is aligned with the magazine and, after ithas removed a cap, to move said cap into forceable engagement with thecontainer in the carrier when it is in alignment therewith.

19. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means fortransporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising anendless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, one stationcomprising a rotary capping mechanism having a plurality of cappingheads spaced around the station, a slide mounting each capping head formovement radially of the capping station, a cap magazine associated witheach capping head, means for locating a container carrier adjacent eachcap magazine, each capping head having means for removing a cap from themagazine and for sealing it to a container in the carrier, means formoving each slide radially from a position in which its capping head isaligned with the magazine to a position wherein it is aligned with theassociated carrier, means for moving the capping head into engagementwith a cap When it is aligned with the magazine and, after it hasremoved a cap, to move said cap into forceable engagement with thecontainer in the carrier when it is in alignment therewith, means fordetecting the absence of a container from the carrier, and locking meanson the slide for looking the capping head out of engagement with thecarrier if no. container is located therein.

20. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means fortransporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising anendless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, one stationcomprising rotary capping mechanism having a plurality of capping headsspaced around the station, a slide mounting each capping head formovement radially of the capping station, a cap magazine associated witheach capping head, means for locating a container carrier adjacent eachcap magazine, each capping head having means for removing a cap from themagazine and for sealing it to a container in the carrier, cam means formoving each slide radially from a position in which its capping head isaligned with the magazine to a position wherein it is aligned with theassociated carrier, second cam means for moving the capping head intoengagement with a cap when it is aligned with the magazine and, after ithas removed a cap, to move said cap into forceable engagement with thecontainer in the carrier when it is in alignment therewith, meansassociated with the capping head for detecting it a cap has not beenremoved from the magazine by the head, and locking means on the slidefor locking the capping head out of engagement with the carrier if nocap has been removed from the magazine.

21. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means fortransporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising anendless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, one stationcomprising capiii) ping mechanism having a plurality of capping heads,each head comprising a vertical plunger mounting at its lower end avacuum head engageable with a cap, a cap magazine associated with eachhead, a valve for controlling the vacuum at each head, means forlocating a carrier adjacent the cap magazine, and a slide mounting thehead for movement firom a position in which it is aligned with themagazine to a position in which it is aligned with the carrier.

22. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means fortransporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising anendless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, one stationcomprising capping mechanism having a plurality of capping heads, eachhead comprising a vertical plunger mounting at its lower end a vacuumhead engageable with a cap, a cap magazine associated with each head, avalve for controlling the vacuum at each head, means for locating acarrier adjacent the cap magazine, a slide mounting the head formovement from a position in which it is aligned with the magazine to aposition in which it is aligned with the carrier, and a locking pin inthe slide for looking the plunger and its vacuum head out of engagementwith the carrier if no cap has been picked up by the vacuum head.

23. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means fortransporting containers to a plurality of Work stations comprising anendless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, one stationcomprising capping mechanism having a plurality of capping heads, eachhead comprising a vertical plunger mounting at its lower end a vacuumhead engageable with a cap, a cap magazine associated with each head, avalve for controlling the vacuum at each head, means for locating acarrier adjacent the cap magazine, a slide mounting the head formovement from a position in which it is aligned with the magazine to aposition in which it is aligned with the carrier, first cam means formoving the slide, and second cam means for moving the plunger and itsvacuum head relatively to the slide into and out of engagement with thecontainer.

24. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means fortransporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising anendless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, one stationcomprising capping mechanism having a plurality of capping heads, eachhead comprising a vertical plunger mounting at its lower end a vacuumhead engageable with a cap, a cap magazine associated with each head, avalve for controlling the vacuum at each head, means for locating acarrier adjacent the cap magazine, a slide mounting the head formovement from a position in which it is aligned with the magazine to aposition in which it is aligned with the carrier, first cam means formoving the slide, second cam means for moving the plunger and its vacuumhead relatively to the slide and into and out of engagement with thecontainer, and locking means in the slide for locking the plunger withits vacuum head out of engagement with the carrier if no container islocated therein.

25. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means fortransporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising anendless conveyor mounting a plu rality of container carriers, onestation comprising capping mechanism having a plurality of cappingheads, each head comprising a vertical plunger mounting at its lower enda vacuum head engageable with a cap, a cap magazine associated with eachhead, a valve for controlling the vcuum at each head, means for locatinga carrier adjacent the cap magazine, and a slide mounting the head formovement from a position in which it is aligned with the magazine to aposition in which it is aligned with the carrier, the vacuum valvehaving means for automatically shutting oh the vacuum at the head if ithas not picked up a cap.

26. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means fortransporting containers to a plurality of work

